Visit Estes' Fogarty leaves EDC board

By Anthony Welch

Trail-Gazette

Posted:
05/19/2016 03:30:57 PM MDT

Visit Estes Park (VEP) President and CEO Elizabeth Fogarty informed the VEP board that she would be leaving the Estes Park Economic Development Corporation (EDC) board at the VEP board meeting on Tuesday, May 17.

Board member Jon Nicholas, who also is president and CEO of the EDC, said this was the first he was hearing of the news. The two organizations are in the midst of a mediation process.

"We're committed to mediation because these two organizations need to work together," he mentioned.

Board member Lindsay Lamson asked if the board needed to formally name a replacement for Fogarty on the EDC board. VEP board president Scott Webermeier said he had volunteered to step up on an immediate basis, but was open to the idea of anyone else on the board taking the spot.

Lamson made motion to designate Webermeier to sit on the EDC board on an interim basis, and the motion passed.

"We're fortunate to have three stakeholders from this board involved in (the EDC board) already," Nicholas added.

Estes Park Events Complex

Town of Estes Park Community Services Director Rob Hinkle provided the board with an update on the Estes Park Events Complex.

Hinkle said one thing he discovered when he came on board was that the complex didn't have a mission and vision statement. That's one of many things he's looking to work on and improve with the Events Complex. He's added two special events coordinator to the staff to aid with that as well, Hinkle said.

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"We're taking a good look at what we charge and making sure we're covering our expenses," he said. "That hasn't happened all the time."

Hinkle said his team is looking at fee structure and contracts. A new concessionaire has been contracted for the Events Complex. Coca Cola also will soon be brought on as a sponsor, according to Hinkle. That will help with marketing, he added.

Hinkle and his team also are looking at ways to be more efficient with operations, sales and marketing. They've already added quite a few new events, he added. One of those was last weekend's Vintage Market, which was a great success, according to Hinkle. More than 9,000 people attended over three days.

The event will return in the fall and become a twice a year thing. It provided a great boost for downtown businesses, according to Fogarty, who said she heard great things from the business community.

Hinkle said his team is targeting business meetings, associations, expos and conferences but also wants to host festivals, sporting events and religious events at the Events Complex.

Hinkle mentioned he has been in contact with Mercedes about hosting one its meetings, where clients learn about new vehicles and have the opportunity to drive them.

There are plans to improve wayfinding and signage to be consistent and have the Estes Events Complex name. There are numerous names for the complex circulating out there, according to Hinkle. He wants to make sure everything says "Estes Events Complex."

He also hopes to clean up the fairgrounds area and maybe, in the near future, add more "green" to the area, like a grass field.

"If we had a nice grass field, I think it would be a great addition with the view there and the lake," Hinkle added.

In other matters:

• Rocky Mountain National Park Public Information Officer Kyle Patterson informed the board that park visitation was up 11 percent during the month of April. She also mentioned a major water project is underway at Glacier Basin Campground, but it will open sometime in June. Longs Peak Campground will open this summer as well, she added.

• The board approved drafting a letter of support for the Town of Estes Park's second FLAP grant application. Town Board liaison Cody Walker said there was nothing but positive comment at the recent town board meeting regarding the grant.

• Fogarty mentioned that half-priced tickets have been purchased for the Visit Estes Park staff and the board to attend the May 26 Lazy B performance. The board agreed that would help them gather input on whether to draft a letter of support for Lazy B project manager Michelle Oliver to take to the Town Board at its June 28 meeting.

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